Community Development Contacts

Each of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks maintains a Community Affairs office to work with depository institutions and the public to identify local credit needs and develop innovative ways to address those needs. The Community Affairs staff provides information about successful initiatives and programs for community reinvestment, small business lending, affordable housing finance, and rural and economic development issues.

Richard Walker
Senior Vice President & Community Affairs Officer
617-973-3059

Richard Walker joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in 1994 and is currently the vice president and community affairs officer of the Public and Community Affairs Department. He has been actively involved in promoting fair and equal access to finance and credit through a variety of media. He has nearly three decades of experience in business and community development in Boston and has served in executive positions at the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, the Lincoln Filene Center for Citizenship and Public Affairs at Tufts University, and the Greater Roxbury Development Corporation. In his free time, Richard is an avid fisherman, a gourmet cook, and a wine enthusiast.

Prabal Chakrabarti
Vice President,Community Development, Regional and Community Outreach.
617-973-3959

Prabal Chakrabarti is director of community affairs at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, where he co-authored “Venture Capital in Secondary Cities” and “Understanding Foreclosures in Massachusetts.” Previously, Prabal was deputy director of research at the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, served in the U.S. Treasury under Clinton, and was a senior consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. He attended the University of Illinois and holds graduate degrees from MIT and Oxford, where he was a Marshall Scholar. Prabal is a member of the Inner City Economic Forum and serves on the board of the Asian Community Development Corporation in Boston.

Sol Carbonell
Senior Community Affairs Analyst
617-973-3285

Sol Carbonell joined the Community Development Unit at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in 2010. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Carbonell brings more than 10 years of experience working across sectors. Prior to joining the bank, Carbonell served as Associate, National Priorities, for a national consumer rights organization based in San Francisco, California. In this role, she developed strategic partnerships and alliances and trained hundreds of non-profits and bank representatives on issues related to credit and banking. Carbonell has spearheaded a number of coalitions and thrives at engaging organizations and public officials and promoting participatory initiatives that address social and economic needs.

Carbonell holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. in Communications from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Buenos Aires. In 2005 Carbonell won the Wisconsin Idea Fellowship for her work with the Bureau of Consumer Protection. She is also a 2008 Fellow of the National Hispana Leadership Institute and a graduate of the Leadership Development Program offered by the Center for Creative Leadership. She has served as board member and advisor to a number of regional and local non-profit organizations focused on financial literacy, microlending and small business development. Carbonell has chaired national outreach and education campaigns and is active in organizations promoting Hispanic leadership. Carbonell enjoys dancing, visiting family and friends in Argentina and exploring new cities with her husband, originally from Vermont.

Caroline Ellis
Managing Editor, Communities & Banking
617-973-3187

Caroline Ellis is the editor of Communities & Banking magazine, which focuses on low- and moderate-Income issues in New England. She was previously a senior editor at MIT Sloan Management Review, the editor of Minnesota Physician, and a manuscript editor at Harvard Business Review. Her undergraduate degree is from Bryn Mawr College, and her master's is from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Her outside interests include theater and reading.

Erin Graves
Policy Analyst
617-973-3813

Erin Graves is a policy analyst with an interested in housing and the sociological impacts of neighborhoods. She is also the editor of New England Community Developments. She previously worked as a Post Doctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on an analysis of the Chicago Housing Authorities' renewal plan which received funding from the MacArthur Foundation. Erin received her Doctorate in Urban Planning and Sociology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master's in Planning from the University of Illinois, Chicago and a Bachelor's from Stanford University. Her work is published in the Journal of the American Planning Association and in City & Community.

Ana Patricia Muñoz
Senior Policy Analyst
617-973-3241

Ana Patricia Muñoz is a policy analyst with interest in community development issues affecting minorities. She previously worked as a Research Associate in the Boston Fed’s research department. She has been contributing to the Community Affairs economic development efforts in Springfield, Massachusetts, studying economic and labor force conditions in Springfield and other midsize industrial cities. Originally from Ecuador, she spent two years working as an economic advisor for a congressman in the National Parliament of Ecuador. Ana Patricia received a BS in economics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. She has a master’s degree in economics from the Université de Montréal and a master’s degree in public affairs from Brown University. She enjoys reading, watching movies and traveling.

Anthony Poore
Senior Community Affairs Analyst
617-973-4205

Anthony Poore joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in 2010. Previously, Anthony was the Assistant Dean of Southern New Hampshire University’s School of Community Economic Development. Anthony holds a Masters Degrees in Community Economic Development and an MBA both from Southern New Hampshire University. He completed his undergraduate studies in Social Work at Wright State University in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio

Anthony has over sixteen years experience as a community economic development practitioner focusing on developing relationship and resources through participatory and capacity building strategies. His activities have included community organizing and new business development in Dayton, Ohio, community mobilization among refugee communities in Manchester, New Hampshire and organizational development activities, human/civil rights advocacy and activism in both locales.

Anna Afshar Steiger
Director, Regional and Community Analytics
617-973-3201

Anna Steiger is a policy analyst with a research focus on investment flows into low- and moderate-income and underserved areas. She is also editor of New England Community Developments, a publication that explores emerging issues in community development and consumer affairs. Previously she worked in international business and microfinance. She holds a master’s of public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. in economics from Barnard College. Her outside interests include running and conflict-resolution coaching.

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